Brace Yourself
by Lady Camillus
Summary: After an unnaturally peaceful month for the Avengers, Loki comes to Tony Stark to warn him of the oncoming war. High tension and a desperate situation force Loki to side with the heroes, but is the involuntary alliance really the only thing drawing the god of mischief to their side…
1. Chapter 1

"Sir, a blocked numbered has been trying to reach you for the past 20 minutes. Did you want me to send it through?"

"Jarvis, you know I don't take calls in the workshop and I never take blocked calls." Tony Stark sat back from his monitors to get a better look at the new plating he was developing for the Iron Man suit. The last couple of battles with the Avengers he'd been called out to, he had come away with more than a couple scrapes and bruises. The previous design was too well known and since Dr. Doom had made a name for himself, he didn't have the technological advantage that he'd been passing by with before. "Cut them off. If it's SHIELD, Agent will show up with taser and Super Nanny recordings in hand."

Dr. Doom's androids ("Doombots" he called them; couldn't have picked a tackier name if he'd tried) had been terrorizing the city relentlessly for almost a year now. Bank robberies, bomb threats, a few of which they hadn't been able to prevent, a hostage/ransom situation involving a politician's son, and an android Armageddon had been just a few of the joys that the Avengers had to deal with thanks to Dr. Doom. The man had yet to state his purpose behind any of these events, other than to just to cause mayhem. World domination was probably a safe bet considering that was what every alien and their mother wanted from Earth.

For the past month though, the assaults had halted, giving Stark the perfect opportunity to try and improve his armor before the next attack.

"Sir, there is something different about this call. I strongly suggest that you at least look into the connection."

"You're killing me, Jarvis." Either way Stark pushed away from his work and rolled over to the monitoring system on the adjacent desk. A few absent minded strokes over the keyboard and he was looking at the logistics and inner workings of his security. "What in hell-"

Numbers and letters in unreadable combinations were flitting across the screen, disappearing as quickly as they were formed. It wasn't a blocked call so much as it was unknown enigma running through the communications device.

"Check the parameter. Can you track the source of the energy? The frequency and strength of the signal suggest that it could be nearby. Either that or this is one power-loaded son of bitch we're dealing with." Or both. Both was very possible.

"The tests were already run and results are now showing that the signal is most strongly concentrated on the balcony of Stark Tower, sir."

Fuck. "Give me eyes, Jarvis, and send out a call to the other Avengers." Tony looked up to see the monitor that should have displayed the security camera's view flash on and turn to static.

"My apologies, sir, but it seems that the signal is jamming the security system as well as all outward forms of communications."

"This night just keeps getting better and better," Tony mumbled as he got up and ran to suit up. He stood still as he felt the familiar pieces of the suit click and lock into place around him. He regretted that he hadn't had time to finish creating the new armor before going out into another scrap, but he should have known better than to assume that the world's rogues would stay quite long enough for him to ever finish anything.

Elevator rides are excruciatingly slow when you're in a hurry.

•••

As soon as he was outside the building, he could feel the current buzzing through the air. The Iron Man suit hummed with the excess energy washing over it as he flew up the side of the tower. He cut the boosters when he was over the balcony, solidly landing on the reinforced concrete. A glance was all he needed before he spotted the source of the energy... Casually lounging in one of the patio chairs, clad in black and green leather, was Earth's own resident God of Mischief: Loki Laufeyson.

Loki raised his eyebrows, a sly smile pulling at his lips, as Stark took a few cautious steps towards him. "I tried calling to let you know I was coming." Loki's voice was like poisoned honey, its false sweetness raising the hairs on the back of Tony's neck. "It's been so long since we've seen each other, I thought we might catch up a little."

Loki had escaped from his imprisonment in Asgard shortly before Dr. Doom started his assault on earth. He had briefly reappeared on earth in Norway and caused a stir in some sacred burial ground before vanishing completely. Tony would be the first to admit that he had been glad of the god's absence over the last year and a half. Loki was one of the Avenger's most cunning and difficult adversaries. His plans were typically very swift, powerful, and ruthless. He wasn't a simple criminal that they could pummel, lock up, and forget about. The most the Avengers could hope to accomplish with Loki was to delay and lessen the severity of whatever plan he schemed up at the time.

Loki's appearance now was troubling. The last month had been eerily peaceful and quiet. The stillness had been beneficial in that it gave SHIELD and the Avengers time to repair many of the damages from battles around the city and they also had time to build up their defenses and create new technologies, such as Tony's new suit design, in preparation for the next wave of attacks that were sure to come. In that time though, SHIELD had lost most all of its tracks on villain locations. It had started with smaller foes that were barely kept tabs on in the first place, but eventually even the big names such as Morgan Le Fay and Baron Zemo, had completely faded off the chart as well. Now one of the most infamous names in villainy shows up right on the Avengers doorstep- it promised nothing but ill will.

Tony stopped a couple meters away from the god. "Yeah, sorry I missed your call, I was bit preoccupied, otherwise I would've started the tea." Loki smirked but said nothing so Tony continued, "Look, I don't know what you've done to my security network, but you better get your little magic shtick out of Jarvis before I decided to do something about it; I feel violated for him."

"So you can call my brother and all your little friends?" Loki asked cynically. He stood up and slowly made his way towards Stark. "As much as I'm sure they've missed me, I think we'll draw out that particular reunion just a little bit longer. No, I came to talk to _you_, Tony Stark."

The god now stood inches away from Tony, looming menacingly over him. Tony had never really grasped just how tall Loki was until that moment. He took a step back so he didn't have to look up quite as much.

"I believe you're currently working on improving the armor of the Iron Man suit, with Dr. Doom as your main concern," Loki said smoothly. "Change your plans. He's not who you need to be worrying about. There is someone else who is much more… sinister, if you will, that your suit won't last ten seconds against."

Tony's brain raced as he took in everything Loki was saying. Why would he be telling him this? "I know we've gotten really close over the last few times we've tried to kill each other and what not, but this is a little generous, don't you think?" There was no way that his enemy would voluntarily be giving him useful information without some sort of catch. This was the God of Mischief he was dealing with. The Liesmith, the ultimate trickster.

A toothy grin flashed upon the tricksters face and he took another step closer to Tony. "Because I don't plan on taking an active part in the oncoming events. I have had my fill of working underneath another... and I also have slight debt I intend to repay. Do not flatter yourself thinking this information is for your benefit, Tony Stark."

Loki put his hands on Stark's shoulders as they began to radiate a dark green aura. Tony could hear the suit clicking and malfunctioning as the power surged through it. Before he could so much as lift his arms, the suit had lost all power and began to disassemble. As the last piece fell to the ground, Tony hurriedly removed the helmet just as Loki grabbed him by the collar, pulling him closer. He leaned in, putting his mouth to Tony's ear.

"Prepare yourself," Loki murmured in low voice. "This will be unlike anything you or the Avengers have ever faced before. If you think you can skim by with the arrant dumb luck and power that you usually engage with, then you had best be ready for reality to come crashing through this petty sense of security you think you have. Because come it will, whether you are ready for it or not."

He leaned back still gripping Tony's shirt collar and nudged one piece of the Iron Man armor on the ground with his foot.

"This is just a fraction of an example of what is to come. You've been warned, Tony Stark."

And with that last statement still hanging in the air, the god vanished

"Who?" Tony yelled into the empty air. "How am I supposed to defend myself against something I don't know anything about?"

Tony flinched as the unanticipated reply was breathed into his ear. "Now I wouldn't want to spoil all the fun. I've given you everything someone like you needs."

He looked down at the pieces of the suit that were still crackling with magic. "Or you could just tell me," he grumbled. "Save me the trouble."

A chuckle reverberated through the air and Tony felt a weight lifted off his shoulders as the aura dispersed.

"Sir, communications and security are back up and fully functional. Would you like me to contact SHIELD and inform them of tonight's events?"

"No." Tony said quickly, looking around at the armor scattered around his feet. "No, I'll let Fury know in the morning. I want to take a closer look at these first so I can get an idea of what we're going to be dealing with." He picked up his helmet examining it briefly before saying, "Get Dummy up here and let's get all this back down to the workshop."

"Very good, sir."


	2. Chapter 2

Tony ghosted alongside Agent Coulson as he was lead to Nick Fury's office. It wasn't unusual for him to forgo sleep and pull all-nighters on his work, but he was starting to feel the effects of it catching up with him. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd slept in a bed. Usually he just fell asleep on his desk as he labored over some equation or another.

The previous night he had been only partially successful at analyzing the energy that Loki had charged his suit with. He had been able to come up with a basic algorithm for the magic's structure, but just knowing what the energy's composition was, wasn't enough. Finding a way to counterbalance the magic and protect himself from the effects was going to be the true test. How was he supposed combat magic if he himself didn't have any? Fighting fire with fire was what he needed but since that was impossible for him, he was stuck trying to fight the fire with a stick. A highly advanced, scientifically elite stick, but it was still a stick. Mixing magic with science was a messy process, but at least it wasn't impossible so far as he could tell.

After walking through seemingly endless, twisting hallways, they rounded one last corner and stopped in front of the director's office. Coulson faced Tony and put his arm out, blocking him from the door. "Mr. Stark, I know this might be difficult for you, but don't be funny with him today. It won't work out in your favor."

"What, is he on his cycle?" Coulson just gave him a flat look. "Right, sorry. Don't fuck with the director. I already learned that in college actually. It doesn't get you better grades or put you in their good books in case you were wondering."

"Stark."

"My god, how do you people stay so serious all the time? Ok, I get it, I'll try to be a good kid and hold my tongue. Do I get to speak with him yet or are we just going to hang around here a while longer? It's not like I had important information for you or anything."

"Just cut the sass, Stark," Coulson said exasperated. He reached to the receptor on the left of the door and pressed the call button. "Director Fury, Tony Stark is here to see you with what he says is urgent information."

You could hear Fury sigh and shuffle some papers around before he finally replied with, "Stark, this had better be good." The door clicked as it unlocked and slid open. "Send him in."

"Behave," Coulson said one last time as he closed the door behind Tony.

Director Fury's office was fairly simple aesthetically. It was more of the same to the rest of the building. Broad metal panels made up the walls as well as the floor. There were no windows to let in any natural light considering the base was underground, so it had the unnerving atmosphere of an operating room with it's over-bright fluorescent lighting. The entire left wall was taken up by locked filing cabinets. Tony suspected that there was more than paperwork in them. They probably held an assortment of weapons, relics, blueprints, evidence, and he honestly wouldn't doubt it if a few of them held cadavers. The hell did you need cabinets that big for in an office? God knows Fury had enough secrets to fill up a congressional library. The other side of the room was taken over by a sprawling bookshelf that wrapped around the back wall of the room. It's shelves held everything from the SHIELD employee manual to guide books on alien cultures. And finally in the center of the room was an oversized 'C' shaped desk with Nick Fury sitting behind it, shrewdly watching Tony as he walked to the vacant chair in front of him.

"Just wondering, at what point does a grown man stop being treated like a child?" Tony asked, only half joking, as he sat down in the chair. "I dress myself in the morning and everything. I can even feed myself on occasion."

Fury gave him a look that immediately made Tony regret saying anything. Had Coulson not just given him fair warning about being anything but serious with the director? His usual no-nonsense yet still tolerant demeanor was taking a back seat and letting a quiet but fierce rage take over. Tony tensed as he tried to rack his brain for why Fury would be directing it at him. Finally his mind clicked on one possibility… he quickly blocked the thought hoping maybe if he didn't think it, Fury wouldn't say it.

"We'll stop treating you like a child once you start acting like a responsible member of this team," Fury said as he dropped a newspaper down in front of Tony. The headline read _Inebriated Iron Man Destroys Beloved Sculpture. _ His heart dropped, apparently just trying to block the thought wasn't going to make it going away. His eyes traveled down the page and settled on the photo beneath the headline. There was definitely no way to weasel out of this and blame it on a Doombot either. That was without a doubt his suit sitting on a pile of crushed metal like it was a throne.

"I-"

"Can it, Stark. I really don't have the patience to listen to your bullshit excuses today. Do you know how much that statue was worth? Do you _know _who gets landed with that bill because one of their own goddamn _teammates _was asinine enough to think that he could get hammered and still be good for patrol duty that night? Stark, you're an important part of the Avengers, but not a necessary one. You have got to stop pulling shit like this or you'll give me no choice but to discharge you from the program."

Contrary to popular belief, Tony did know when to shut up and take it. He had done exactly what he was being accused of and nothing he could say would help his case, and any word that left his mouth would probably just heighten the chances of Fury killing him on the spot.

About the sculpture, Tony did regret it. The day it happened had been one of _those _days, one of the days when he couldn't keep the memories from resurfacing. His father, the cave, Yinsen, Obadiah… all determined to play king of the hill with his thoughts. He had started drinking that morning and had kept going through to the evening before his patrol shift started. Neither Pepper nor Steve had been around to try and stop him from going out, he wasn't going to call in to anyone else for something like that, and he figured he wasn't so far gone he couldn't manage anyways. When he was first in the suit and out above the city, everything was going fine. He just stayed clear of tall buildings and there was nothing to worry about. That was until he noticed the beacon of light that was being projected from the site of the sculpture. It was one of those modern art sculptures that no one really understands but you stand in front of it and 'appreciate' it because you want to seem like an intellectual. The icing on the cake though, was that it had been funded by one of the more difficult counsel members that SHIELD had to deal with. Tony was just planning on going down there to look at it and give a piece of his mind to whoever was there, but being more than a little drunk, he misjudged his landing and came crashing down on it. He untangled himself from the pieces of warped metal to look at the damage and immediately judged that it was already too late to be salvaged. With that in mind, he figured he'd improve it a bit. He roughly crushed it into the shape of a chair and proceeded with his aforementioned plan of giving the surrounding people a piece of his mind. Well, some journalists and a couple of officers were there within minutes, there was a quick trip downtown, and the rest you can read in the paper. It just wasn't a great night overall.

The silence was tense as Fury stared him down from across the desk, waiting for him to say something.

"Don't tell me that Tony 'Last Word' Stark finally knows when he's beat. Because if I had known all it'd take was one loved sculpture, I would've set this up years ago."

Well. He knew when to shut up most of the time.

"You're not actually going to tell me that you _liked_ that hunk of scrap metal someone called art, are you?"

Fury frowned at Tony for a minute before his composure cracked and he started laughing. He sat back in his chair and sighed.

"Fuck no, are you kidding? I will never understand this goddamn art movement. Personally I think you did all of New York a service by fixing that thing. Looks better now than it ever did before."

The corner of Tony's mouth quirked, at least he wasn't in quite as deep of shit as he thought he was.

Unfortunately, Fury must have read that thought on his face because his scowl quickly came back as he said, "Don't think that just because I agree with you means you get out of this scot-free. You've put us back in the poor opinions of the counsel and landed us with $200,000 worth of repercussions. Believe it or not, SHIELD does have more important issues to deal with than cleaning up after you. One more incident and you might be suspended from the team. At the very least, you'll be on probation. I don't want to deal with that, you don't want to deal with that, so do us both a favor and try to keep a low profile for the time being."

Tony nodded. "Right. Low profile. Easy. But you know, I seem to remember you following me around more when I was operating on my own versus when you roped me into your super secret boy band. I'm just saying I'm pretty sure you want me to stick around." He wasn't about to admit how much the thought of not being apart of the Avengers scared him. For as much as he sometimes bitched and whined about having to work as a team, he would feel lost without them. It would also probably mean that his suits and a lot of his tech would be confiscated. He couldn't risk losing everything he'd worked for in the last decade.

Fury's lips pursed as he looked incredulously at Tony. "Don't test your luck." He picked the newspaper back up from the desk and put it into an overstuffed file that Tony saw was labeled with his name before it was shut away in one of the drawers. Of course the other Avenger's files were probably just as big… The director folded his hands and leaned forward on the desk giving Tony his full attention. "Now, gods save me, Stark, what the hell kind of important information do you have that it couldn't wait until this weeks scheduled briefing?"

Fury's comment immediately brought Tony back to the present issue. He hesitated for only a moment, wondering how Fury would take the news, before he said it.

"Loki's back. He paid a visit to me at Stark Tower last night around one in the morning."

Fury's one, visible eye widened. "Stark, if you're bullshitting me just to try and take some of the pressure off of you then-"

"I swear to god, I'm not lying. He showed up, messed with my tech, and gave some cryptic hints about some kind of war that's about to be unleashed here before he vanished."

"Do you have a video record of this?" Fury pinched his brow as Tony's news set in.

"No, like I said, he messed with my tech. He shut down my security and my communications system."

Fury made an annoyed sound. "I'm going to need you to remember and tell me, word for word, everything that he said— everything that he did. We're going to need all of the information we can get on this situation so we can get as much of a head start as possible on this 'war'."

The next hour was spent with Tony relaying the encounter between Loki and himself in excruciating detail. By the end of the conversation Fury knew everything from what Stark thought of the type of magic his suit had been laced with down to how many steps Loki had taken to cross the balcony to reach him. When he finally seemed like he had all the information he thought he could wring from Tony's mind, he shooed Tony away from his office and out of the base.

Glad to be above ground again, Tony stretched. He had another long day of research and experimenting ahead of him.

Fury's questioning had brought his encounter with the god to the forefront of his thoughts and he couldn't help but replay it over again as he raced down the winding roads towards the city. He could perfectly recall the god's heavy presence and sly mannerisms, his cool breath playing across Tony's ear. The vivid memory sent a chill down his spine. He shook his head trying to clear his thoughts. He needed all of his focus to be on the task of counteracting the magic and not on tall alluring gods. Loki himself was not the main concern at this point. They would handle that situation in due time.

**/AN/**

I'm so sorry that this chapter is rather boring and just information. Good parts are coming, I promise, I did rate this M for a reason. I just hadn't updated in a while and I didn't want it to look like I've abandoned this after one chapter. I'll try to be more frequent from here on out. Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Tony was on the verge of having a very un-adult temper tantrum. The magic was proving unworkable in every test he had run on it. No matter what elements, rays, or varied strength energies he fired at it, the magic would simply flare and adapt to the disruption before it returned to it's original state.

He grabbed the holographic model of the magic's molecular structure and chucked it across the room, watching the digital pieces shatter as it hit the wall. He groaned and brought his head to his hands, rubbing his temples. It was nearly 10:00PM; he had been working for almost thirteen hours straight and he still hadn't made any progress. He knew a hundred different ways to _not _do it, but there was no headway in what direction he should be taking.

"You know, those diagrams are a little more useful when they aren't shot and scattered on the opposite side of the room."

Tony started and looked up at the entrance of the room to see Bruce Banner walking towards him with a tray of food. He set the tray with a sandwich, some fruit, and a protein shake on top of the holographs, effectively putting them into sleep-mode.

"Pepper sent me over here. She guessed you probably haven't had anything to eat all day." Tony just grunted in response. Banner sighed. "You know, just because she broke it off with you doesn't mean that she doesn't still care about you. You need to eat Tony. You're going to overwork and kill yourself one of these days."

Now it was Tony's turn to sigh. He couldn't blame Pepper for breaking up with him; he was unruly, headstrong, and never listened to any of her cautions. There's only so much of that that a person can take after a while. And even now, after she had left him to avoid his idiotic tendencies, she was still here worrying about him. Pepper was definitely too good for him, this was for the better.

"What the fuck am I supposed to be able to do with this?" Tony gestured towards the armor. "Banner, I've tried just about everything I can think of, and it all has the same effect. It hurts me to say it but I don't think we have the technology to combat this."

Bruce folded his arms and leaned against the desk thinking. After a minute he asked, "Have you tried reproducing the magic itself yet?" He moved the tray off the hologram projector and started it back up. "You've just been trying to counterbalance it so far, right? But this isn't from our world, so it's possible that our elements and substances won't fully react and balance with it the way they would under standard conditions." Banner had restored the image of the molecular structure that Tony had thrown across the room moments ago.

"You know, I started that awhile ago, but there's something missing," Tony said as he stood up and walked around the table to watch Bruce examine the structure. "It's almost like the magic is alive. This structure is the body and I have all the ingredients to form it, but there's nothing to give it a kick-start. It's missing a soul."

Bruce pulled out his glasses to better see what he was looking at. He expanded the image and turned it, studying the bonds between the atoms. "What's happening here?" He had enlarged one of the atoms to the point where you could see the electrons flying in a path around its nucleus. Tony came closer to see what exactly Banner was pointing out.

"It's got more than three electrons on each orbital…. What, so the universe just makes up different laws for the same species in different galaxies? Great, that's wonderful. I love forging for new universal laws. It's my favorite pass time."

Bruce smirked a little. "Don't try to pretend you don't love playing pioneer." He put his glasses away as he said, "Hopefully that'll get you somewhere for now. I've got a couple different projects started back at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s lab that need my attention; I just wanted to make sure you were still alive over here."

"Yeah, well, thanks. I guess I've been staring at this thing for so long I don't even know what I'm looking for anymore." Banner just waved and headed back to the elevator.

Tony watched the doors close behind him and stood there listening until the faint rumble of machinery disappeared. He let out a long breath and looked back to the enlarged atom as the seemingly impossible electron tracks glided around it. Shaking his head a little he walked back over to where Banner had set the tray of food and picked up an apple, taking a bite into the ripe fruit as he flopped back down in his chair. This wasn't the first time he had been faced with a new scientific frontier but all the same, it wouldn't be easy.

He sat eating through the rest of the tray of food as he brainstormed for ways to approach the extra electron issue. About an hour had passed since Bruce had left when he noticed that something was off. The lab was in total silence save for the whirring of the ventilation system and the hum of the holographic models. Tony hadn't been given any notification that Bruce had come into the building nor had he been offered to have tests run specifically on the electron's pattern after he left.

"JARVIS?" Tony called out. No reply. "Shit." He jumped out of the chair and hurried to one of the computers and began frantically entering in the security information to get into JARVIS' mainframe. "Hey JARVIS, buddy, you gotta wake up. Daddy needs you right now." He hit enter and waited for the data to load, but the screen remained blank. He could feel his pulse rising as adrenaline coursed through his system, waking up him up from his previously dreary state.

From the floors below he could hear the elevator slowly rising. He whipped his head around looking for his suit even though he knew it was several floors away. Tony cursed. He really needed to do something about the tower's layout so he had better access to his suits at all times. As the elevator leveled with his floor all of the tech in the room shorted out and the lights started to flicker and spark. The hell was happening? As his mind tried to connect the dots, he figured that it was most likely Loki paying another late night visit, hopefully with more information. Couldn't the bastard just come in without the theatrics? Guess not. From all of their previous encounters, the god had always had a flare for the dramatic. The lights finally settled on staying off as the elevator doors rolled open. Tony could just barely make out the silhouette of a tall and lean figure as his eyes adjusted to the darkness.

"Loki, I know you're a god and you need to make impressive entrances, but is it really necessary for you to shut down my systems and blow out my lights every time you're here?" His taunt was answered with a deep chuckle that seemed to fall dead in the air. Tony's heart stopped as he realized that this was not the Asgardian. He looked around him for anything he could use as a weapon, finally picking up a crowbar laying on the adjacent desk.

"My apologies, Mr. Stark." The voice was gravelly and thick with an accent that Tony couldn't quite place. "You'll have to postpone your date with the god of mischief. I'm afraid there is a rather important business conference that requires your attendance." Tony backed around the desk as the figure continued to slowly approach him.

"Meeting hours are between eleven and three-thirty the first and third Mondays of the month. If you could schedule an appointment, I'm sure we can squeeze you in sometime in the next four months."

"Our schedule's a little tight. Your cooperation would be appreciated." Tony decided that something in his rough accent sounded Asian.

"Sorry, I'm crunched for time myself so I'm going to have to decline." Tony was still backing around the desk away from the man. If he could just get to the back wall there was a handgun he could replace the crowbar with.

"If that is how you feel…" there was a strange mix of disappointment and satisfaction in his voice as he said it, "So be it."

The dark figure shifted into an offensive stance and something on the index finger of his right hand began to pulse. He looked like he was about to throw a punch but he was still a good six feet away from Tony, who was almost to the gun now. Just as the man punched forward into the air Tony threw the crowbar, aiming for his head. The punch had sent forth some sort of wave that repelled the tool forcefully back Tony's direction and he just managed to avoid being hit by the it, but the wave itself knocked him into the wall. He braced himself and reached for the case on the wall holding the gun. The figure was leaping over the desk at him and he barely managed to grab the gun and aim it before there was another pulse and this time the gun was pulled forward out of his grasp. Tony let out a frustrated yell and started to move into a fighting stance but he was too slow and the figure was now pinning him to the wall by his neck.

At this distance Tony could just make out part of his appearance. The man had long black hair and a long mustache, and he seemed to have Asian-esque facial features that were currently graced by a smug grin. He could feel rings on all of the fingers holding his neck to the wall and could see that the other hand, now being raised to his face, had rings on every finger as well.

Tony tried to punch his assailant in the stomach but with such poor leverage it was nothing more than a love tap. He gasped for air as the grip on his throat tightened, weakly bringing his hands up to attempt to pry the hand open. White stars popped before his eyes.

"Your time is over, Anthony Stark," the man triumphantly growled as Tony's grip on staying conscience slipped away from him. His vision was beginning to fade. "It is time to go."

Tony slid to the floor as the man let go off him. The last thing he was aware of before he blacked out was his arms being wrenched and bond together behind his back.

* * *

**/AN/**

Sorry for the short chapter! Also sorry if there's any mistakes because I didn't have time to go over it again. At least it's getting almost interesting? More soon, I promise


End file.
